What a little gem hiding out in the Dogpatch! I never would have known about this place had it not been for a ScoutMob deal, but since visiting 2 days ago I’ve told at least 4 people that they absolutely have to try this place.

What really sent me over the top was the personal and excellent service from the owner, Richard. Since our waitress didn’t know how to ring up our order with the deal code, we had to wait for Richard to come by. I’m glad we did! He asked us about our meal, particularly if we had tried the Fava beans. A very enthusiastic yes assured him we had, and then he suggested we try the Chulpis, which are like Ecuadorian popcorn. He brought us a small dish to taste while he rang up our bill. Yummm! Richard even took the time to share a bit about the influences of the food for the restaurant, which was a really nice touch.

Back to the food. We shared each of these dishes:
Fava Beans – fried fava beans with salt – delicious! and addicting!
Arepas con queso – very tasty little patties filled with cheese and topped with an onion salad mixture
Empanadas – we had actually ordered the chicken, but received the beef. since they were quite tasty, we didn’t say anything. I’d like to try the chicken when we go back.
Chorizo sliders – ok, so I don’t eat any kind of pork, but on the menu, it says you can substitute for soyrizo – the veggie option. Since the boy loves chorizo, we asked if we could do one of each, since it came with 2. No problem. For the soyrizo – it was good, but the soy patty had a hard time staying together in the burger. I saw another review that mentioned the gorganzola was overpowering, but I wish it had more! Didn’t taste much of it at all. For me, this was the only semi-weak dish on the menu, but the boy, who devoured the chorizo, loved it.
Camarones al mojo de ajo – which was shrimp, garlic, onions, with white beans and spinach salad. The shrimp with the garlic onions were absolutely heavenly! The white bean puree wasn’t my fav.
And for desert – The empanadas de aire – wow wow wow. the perfect combo of sweet and salty. My only complaint here is that mine was spouting grease when I cut into into, but the boy got lucky and his was not overly greasy.

I definitely want to come back. The friendly service and the awesome food have got me sold. If only it were closer to where I live… oh well, it’s worth the trek!

Toppings:
Shredded cheddar Cheese
Diced avocado
Tortilla strips (I used the packaged ready to use variety, but you can easily make your own with an oven, cooking spray, and a few corn tortillas)

Directions:

Prepare all ingredients and place into large crock-pot. Set on low heat for 6 hours, stirring once every couple of hours. When chicken is tender, soup is ready! Spoon out into soup bowls, top with shredded cheddar cheese, avocado, and tortilla strips and enjoy!

While I named this dish as a “stir-fry,” I’d like to note that it is a healthy stir-fry. That’s right, healthy. How could that be? Simple… instead of using a lot of olive oil to simmer my veggies and meat in, I used chicken broth. All the flavor and none of the calories.

Chicken: I like to pre-cook the chicken in the George Forman before adding to the skillet. To do this, simply place the fresh chicken breasts on the George, cover, and cook for 6-8 minutes, until meat is cooked through (no pink). This can be done at the same time as veggies are cooking in the skillet. Once the chicken is cooked through, cut into bite sized pieces and add to veggies on the skillet.
If you prefer to cook your chicken in the skillet, I recommend slicing it into bite sized pieces and cooking it with chicken broth in the skillet for 3-4 minutes before adding the veggies.

Veggies: Start by spraying your pan with a thin coat of Pam (to make cleanup easier). Then add diced bell pepper, diced yellow onion, bamboo shoots, baby corn, and sugar snaps peas along with 1/4 cup of chicken broth. Add 2 teaspoons garlic (you can be as generous as you’d like depending on personal preferences), garlic salt, and pepper to taste. Cook with medium/high heat until veggies are tender. Add chicken broth as necessary to prevent burning/sticking. Once veggies are close to tender, add Asian Stir-fry sauce, chicken, and any remaining spices. Optional – add 1-2 teaspoons soy sauce. Simmer in skillet until liquids have been absorbed into veggies and chicken (but not until dry).

This essay/recipe are courtesy of my friend Caycee Peters, all credit goes to her for this delicious concoction.

How to Take the Ordinary Out of Brownies
When people think of brownies, they think of just plain ole fudge brownies and their ideas of livening it up are still pretty basic and ordinary. Honestly, how much more tasteful can walnuts and chocolate chips get? Eventually, that gets boring too.
Today, I’m going to tell you how to make a “Bomb Ass Brownie Pizza” to liven up those taste buds of yours and make your brownies the talk of the town. Don’t be alarmed, Marijuana will not be an ingredient; unless of course that’s what you want, but let’s face the facts here people, that gets boring after awhile too, It’s so boring it puts you to sleep. Baht ump bum! tuush!
First you will need a 15″ pizza pan, preferably a deep one, about a half an inch deep should be sufficed. Two 20 ounce boxes of brownie mix, yes, brownie mix, I’m too lazy to make it from scratch, if you’ve got the time, have at it; as for me, I’ve got a party to go to. (This would be a good time to turn on your stereo, baking shouldn’t take place without the sounds of some great tunes playing in the back ground.)
Okay, now we’re getting down to business, you’ll need the following ingredients:
1-8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1-8oz can of crushed pineapple, drained, reserve the juice, you might need it later.
2 Tablespoons of sugar
2 bananas, sliced and tossed in lemon juice (to prevent browning)
1 cup fresh strawberries
1 cup fresh kiwi, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup maraschino cherries, sliced in halves
1 cup chopped nuts
1-8oz package of shredded coconut
Hershey’s chocolate syrup-YUM!
Once you have all the ingredients, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bust out the brownie mix and follow the directions on the box, combine the two boxes together, it’ll save you time. (Wink) Once you’ve mixed that together, grease the pizza PAN with PAM. Pour the brownie mix into the pizza pan and put it in the oven for about 35-45 minutes, refer to the brownie box for cooking times in thickness. I don’t remember the exact time off hand, I’m the voyeur type, (I like to watch) and then make an assessment with my fork as to when I think it’s done.
While that’s baking, you’ll want to prepare the “Sauce”. You’ll beat the cream cheese with the crushed pineapple and two tablespoons of sugar, until it’s white and yellow specked (blended). During this time, you can use the reserved pineapple juice to soften the spread for consistency. However, I don’t think you’ll need to use all of the remaining pineapple juice; you can just drink it, if you don’t want to waste it. (Better yet, mix the juice with some rum and OJ and you’ve got yourself a “Square cow”!) Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, set the spread aside, check the brownie to see if it’s done, take it out and let it cool for about 20 minutes.
Now for the fruit! Cutting it is pretty self explanatory, just watch your fingers! With regards to cutting the strawberries, if you want to dazzle the eyes of your friends, cut them in pointed triangular shapes.
Once the brownie’s been cooled, you’ll take the cream cheese spread, “Sauce” and spread it all over the top of the brownie, as if you were saucing up a pizza. When you’re done with that, outline the brownie pizza with the strawberries, from the outer side going inwards with the pointed part of the slice facing outward. Ya dig? Then you want to scatter the rest of the fruit anywhere on top of the brownie, as if you were making an actual meat pizza. When you’re done with that, sprinkle the chopped nuts and the shredded coconut all over the top, like you would with shredded cheese. Last but not least, you’ll drizzle that yummy chocolate syrup all over the place (on the brownie, and not the kitchen or your person) and VOIA LA! You’ve got yourself a “Bomb Ass Brownie Pizza”! Not only is it a party to your taste buds, but it’s tantalizing to the eyes, it screams FIESTA!

This review is from almost a year ago, but the experience is still so fresh and perfect in my mind that I thought I’d share it here.

One word comes to mind when I think of Acquerello… WOW

The atmosphere, presentation, service, and food were all spectacular. Though this was my first fine dining experience in SF, it will not be my last, and certainly will not be forgotten.

My date and I both opted for 4 courses, Here’s just a quick rundown of what we had:

Wine – an excellent Italian Sangiovese suggested by the Sommelier. It truly complimented every dish and we savored every last drop.

First Course – Roasted peppers stuffed with tuna, Piemontese style. This was beautifully presented, full of color, and bursting with flavor. We both enjoyed this dish immensely.

Second Course – I opted for the Ridged pasta with foie gras, scented with black truffles and Marsala. Just a warning – this dish was very rich, but if you’re ok with that, then I would highly recommend it! My date opted for the Wild forest mushroom filled ravioli which were also to die for.

Third Course – I went for the Baked halibut over fregula with shellfish, peas, and saffron vinaigrette. Only one word can describe this dish… delicious! My date chose the Seared Meyer’s ranch New York steak – his review – the best steak he has EVER had.

For the fourth course I decided to go for the cheese plate while my date chose a fruit tart. We we’re both very pleased with our choices.

Finally, as a complimentary after dinner treat we were brought house made biscotti (I normally do not care for biscotti, but this was soooo good I asked to take some home!) and our choice of tea or coffee.

All in all this meal was simply perfect. I can’t wait until the next time I visit Acquerello.

Cooking Directions:

To cook the spaghetti squash – cut in half and pierce squash several times with a fork. Place face down on baking sheet and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 45 min or until squash can be easily scraped out of shell with a fork.

Peel eggplant and cut into 1/3in thick medallions. Lightly spray each medallion with Pam cooking spray and dip in bread crumbs to lightly coat each side. Place on a baking sheet and bake in over for 8 min on each side at 375 degrees.

Coat the bottom of a 9×9 glass casserole dish with a thin layer of sauce. Place one layer of baked eggplant. Cover with 1/3 cup of spaghetti squash, 1/3 cup sliced mushrooms, 1/3 cup cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup diced onion. Carefully spread another layer of spaghetti sauce over top. Repeat layering process until all ingrediants are used except last 1/3 cup cheese. Top with a layer of spaghetti sauce, basil and garlic salt.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 min, sprinkle the last 1/3 cup cheese on top, and continue baking another 5-6 min or until cheese is melted.

This is a tasty dish that is quick and easy to make and will make you the talk of the dinner party (I know, I just took it took it to one and was receiving compliments all night!). It’s a bit on the spicy side because it has chipotle peppers in it, but if you don’t like spicy you can leave out the peppers and still enjoy a delicious dish.

For Advance preparation: precook pasta, this can be done the day before. Combine sauce ingredients, this may be completed up to 8 hours before you put the dish together and serve.

Cooking Instructions: Lightly salt the water, cook the pasta. When the pasta is done cooking (al dente), drain in a colander. Crumble the goat cheese. Chop the green onions and cilantro.

Return the empty pasta pot to the stove over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil or chicken stock (for a lower calorie option). When the oil becomes hot, add the pasta and the sauce. Toss until evenly combined and well heated. Transfer to a platter or dinner plate. Sprinkle on the goat cheese, green onions, cilantro, and sunflower seeds. Serve at once.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place portabella mushrooms on an oven tray (I use foil on top of the tray so it’s less messy) and bake for 25 min. Take mushrooms out and drain any excess fluid. Be careful as they will be very hot.

Fill bottom of caps with 1/4 cup of marinara sauce each and place stuffing into mushroom caps on top of sauce, packing in. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 min. Remove and place remaining 1/4 cup parmesan cheese on top and continue to bake for 5-10 min until cheese is melted.

Serve hot with side dish of choice (I made bowtie pasta with marinara sauce and sauteed zucchini). Makes 2 portions.

One of my coworkers was kind enough to bring in some delicious red and orange tomatoes fresh from her garden, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to make a tomato salad, throwing in some fresh cilantro and goat cheese for taste and style. Recipe below:

Cut tomatoes in wedges and place on a plate in a circular pattern with red on the outside and orange on the inside. Sprinkle on goat cheese, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately and enjoy.